patience

This morning I am thinking about the importance of being patient with yourself when making changes. It is a monumental task to transform the way we eat, especially when doing it for the 'long haul'- which means we are really changing our lifestyles permanently so that we can live in a healthy way from here on out. This requires a long term perspective, especially if you are someone who perhaps has not had the time or interest to value a skill like cooking your own food. There is a lot of learning to do and that can take time!

I do believe that to move towards a healthier place it is critical to cook for ourselves. This way we can use whole, nutrient dense foods, we can cook larger amounts ahead of time so we can bring our food with us even on busy days, we can take control of our health even if it seems on first glance that we 'don't have time'. There is nothing more important than taking the time we need to prepare our food for better health. We just might need to be creative in how we go about doing that. We also need to be patient in the process, as each new dish or skill takes time to learn.

The most important step is a commitment to health and a curiosity and willingness to try. Until I am able to take the time to write my own book, :) I draw from the wealth of options out there to point the way to cooking for ourselves. Two of my absolute favorites are 'Well Fed 1' and Well Fed 2' by Melissa Joulwan. These books offer great tips for cooking ahead, delicious recipes (all of which are satisfying and healthy) and some good cheerleading for healthy living as well.